🎧 190 | USA's World Cup Fever & Arsenal’s Stateside Explosion

Stars, Stripes & The Arsenal: World Cup Buzz & Arsenal's Fandom in American

Episode 190 dives into the heart of the World Cup in North America — how it’s being received, how it’s transforming football culture in the US, and how Arsenal’s American fanbase is exploding in real time. Tabs is joined by New Jersey‑based substack writer and massive Arsenal supporter Carla Espinal, whose work on Football Without Borders has become essential reading for anyone interested in the sport’s global growth & being an Arsenal fan in the US.

Together they explore:

• the USMNT’s dramatic run to the Round of 16

• Balogun’s red card, resilience, and the team’s new identity

• Pochettino’s impact and why the US finally feels “connected” to its national team

• the massive surge in American viewership — and why the Premier League will be the biggest winner

• the atmosphere in US cities: flags, shirts, fan zones, and football everywhere

• the World Cup’s cultural takeover of baseball stadiums, bars, and neighbourhoods

• the darker side: immigration issues, ICE fears, ticket price gouging, and FIFA’s manipulation of resale markets

• how Messi, MLS, and potential moves for US stars could reshape the league

• what it’s really like to be an Arsenal fan in America — especially now that Arsenal are champions

It’s insightful, global, political, cultural, and very Arsenal — a look at how the world’s biggest tournament is reshaping football in the United States and pulling Arsenal deeper into the American sporting landscape.

--

Follow, rate, and subscribe on your favourite podcast app.

Find us on socials: @thegroveafc

This is The Grove, and everyone is welcome.

COME ON YOU GUNNERS!

----

Follow, rate, and subscribe to The Grove Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube @thegroveafc

Find us on BlueSky, Threads, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube: @thegroveafc

Email us here: thegrovepodcast@outlook.com

Caral Espinal: @carlaespinal (Instagram & Threads) - https://footballwithoutborders.substack.com/

🔴 #Arsenal #AFC #COYG #ArsenalPodcast #gunners #EPL #Arteta #UCL #odegaard #eze #madueke #gyokeres #saka #trossard #martinelli #zubimendi #raya #hincapie #jesus #rice #gabriel #MLS #saliba #mosquera #havertz #calafiori #norgaard

Arsenal podcast, Premier League title race, Arsenal instant reaction, Arsenal analysis, The Grove Podcast, Hot Off The Pitch. PREMIER LEAGUE CHAMPIONS. UCL. UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

(VIDEO EDIT)